In advance of my soon-to-be-inaugurated section (yes, yes! Another one! What of it?!) “Lest we forget”, wherein I note dates in each month when we lost someone special to the music scene, be they an artiste, a producer, a songwriter or anyone else connected with the music biz, I see I'm a little late but nevertheless would like to mark the occasion of the first anniversary of the passing of Gerry Rafferty.
I freely admit I have not heard all Gerry's albums, and those I have heard I have not unequivocally enjoyed (“Sleepwalking” is a particular turkey in some ways: watch for it in a “Love/Hate” feature soon), but I've listened to enough about the man to know that he made some excellent music, but sadly will forever be known for the great classic “Baker Street”, which, though excellent, is not the best of his work.
BBC Four are featuring some programmes later tonight/this morning celebrating the man's genius, so I thought I'd just put together some videos of what I consider to be his finest music. As it's late and time is pressing upon me I'll forego my usual titles and comments on the videos, but at any rate I believe you'll agree the music speaks for itself.
“Night owl” was one of the early albums reviewed here, and it is one of his better albums (that I've listened to), so there may be videos here that those of you who have read last year's journal entries have already seen, but my favourite of his will always be “North and south”. I must indeed catch up on his later work, as this was the last of his albums I bought, or listened to, and I know he had three more since that, his last studio album being recorded a full eleven years before his untimely death.
For now, though, these to me represent the very best of the man who started being stuck in the middle and ended up winding his way down on Baker Street, where he found fame, recognition and, one must assume, a certain amount of fortune. But as with all musicians, it's the legacy they leave behind when they go that truly defines them, and their career, and it's certainly true that while everyone dies, the music lives on, and in that way, musicians, like other artists, must be seen as the closest to achieving immortality.
So, lest we forget …. Gerry Rafferty, 1947-2011. May he rest in peace.
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